


Tequila Deserves a Better Rap

by AphroditeMadeMeDoIt



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, I love Gus, Nicole is a tall glass of water, Waverly is thirsty, Wynonna is Wynonna
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:55:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27136243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AphroditeMadeMeDoIt/pseuds/AphroditeMadeMeDoIt
Summary: Waverly has been living her best life in the city but her family in Purgatory has no idea. When the young Earp goes back to Purgatory on holiday her worlds collide in a way that will change everything.
Relationships: Waverly Earp & Nicole Haught, Waverly Earp & Wynonna Earp, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 43
Kudos: 301





	1. Chapter 1

Waverly had had way too many tequila shots and she was feeling more than a little tipsy. She had just landed the job of her dreams, merely a week after finishing her masters, and all her friends had convinced her they had to go partying before she left to see her family for a while. She was driving out early the next morning and she was already regretting not taking a rain check on the celebrations when she saw the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on, smiling at her from across the busy bar.

One of the many advantages of leaving her small hometown to come study in the big city was that Waverly was finally able to come to terms with her sexuality. Since she was a little girl she had struggled with the fact that she wasn’t like all the other girls in Purgatory, and that realization hit her even harder when she got flooded by the hell-raising hormones of puberty. She liked boys just fine but she also liked girls and that had caused her a lot of unwanted feelings and awkward crushes towards boy crazy girls that she was sure could never feel the same. So she had kept her sexuality to herself, focusing on the few boys she was also attracted to and pushing down any feelings she may have had for any of the girls in town. 

Once she arrived in Calgary University, however, things changed drastically. The campus was full of queer people and nobody seemed to care who you were attracted to or who you wanted to date or even just fuck. It was paradise. Waverly was finally able to be her true self and act upon feelings she had towards people regardless of their gender identity, and through her years of college and post-grad she had truly taken advantage of her newly found sexual freedom. So when a redhead with deep chocolate eyes, a blinding smile and dimples so sexy Waverly wanted to lose herself in them, flirted with her from across the bar, Waverly did not think twice before picking up her drink and walking over to her.

“Hi! I’m Waverly.” She half shouted over the loud music, lips ghosting on the redhead’s ear and causing her to clearly shiver. She then moved sideways in between the taller girl and the person standing next to her on the bar, so she was facing the girl and could give her the most charming smile she could muster after so many tequila shots, as she introduced herself. Waverly knew this game well and just seeing the look in the other girl’s face and the way she licked her lips seductively before moving closer to whisper in Waverly’s ear, she could tell this one was in the bag.

“Hi, Waverly. What do you say we get out of here?” The redhead proposed, not wasting any time and going a step further, softly running her bottom lip over the shell of Waverly’s ear. The feeling of her hot breath against her skin and the sensation of soft lips touching her ear ignited a fire in between Waverly’s legs, causing an involuntary moan to leave her throat. The redhead moved again so her face was so close to Waverly’s that the brunette could feel her breath in her lips, and then she smirked, clearly pleased with the way Waverly’s body was reacting to her. It took all of Waverly’s self-restraint to not take the girl against the bar then and there and wipe that sexy smirk off her face. Instead she grabbed the girl’s hand and, after a quick wave goodbye to her friends, she took her home.

* * *

Waverly woke up the next morning with a mild hangover but it was not nearly as bad as it could have been were she not an Earp and had she not burned a good part of the alcohol she consumed during her late night activities. She smiled to herself and stretched, feeling the familiar ache in between legs and thought back at all the amazing things they had done the night before. Despite the alcohol she could still remember vividly the way that ginger goddess had taken her against her apartment door first, because neither of them could wait any longer after getting inside, and then she had carried her to bed and spent the night making her feel things she had never truly felt before. 

She sighed and turned, smile growing bigger and mischievous, hoping they could pick up from where they left off when they finally fell asleep but as her hands moved over to the other side of the bed, instead of touching warm soft skin, she was met with the unexpected feeling of cold sheets and crisp paper. Opening her eyes, she could then confirm that her bedmate was indeed nowhere to be found and in her place there was a carefully placed note on top of the recently vacated pillow.

“Waverly,

I am sorry for having to leave while you are asleep but I have an appointment I absolutely cannot be late for and right now you look so damn adorable that I did not have the heart to wake you up. 

Thank you for an amazing night and I really hope I can see you again.

So text me and we can arrange something ;)  
(587) 555-1212

N. xx”

Waverly smiled broadly at the note. For a second, she had been disappointed the redhead had sneaked out on her but reading her reasoning had only made her affection for the girl grow. Waverly would be lying if she said her intentions had been anything more than a one-night-stand when she took the girl home the night before, but after experiencing the best sex of her life and, on top of that, the easy conversation between lazy kisses and cuddling until dawn, she couldn’t help but to wonder if there could be something more between them.

She grabbed her phone from the night stand and saw it was past 10am. She had planned to leave for Purgatory much earlier and now she would never make it in time for lunch with her sister. But considering the reason why she was so late, she couldn’t really be bothered to care too much about the change in plans. She sent her sister a quick text to say she had overslept and opened a new contact to add the number from the note, but as soon as she looked at the contact screen she realized she had a much more pressing issue. She couldn’t remember the girl’s name.

She grunted in frustration and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes, trying to will her brain into remembering if the hot redhead had even given her her name at all. She knew she had had a lot to drink but she surely remembered every single delicious thing that mouth had done to her, so she would most definitely remember her name if she had said it. Wouldn’t she?

She knew they had talked about a lot of little things once they were too tired to move but still didn’t quite want the night to end, but now that Waverly thought back to it, the redhead had not given her much information, they had mostly talked about Waverly’s studies and the new job she had been out celebrating, her dreams for the future and small things like their favorite foods and dream holiday destinations. Waverly sighed and decided this was a problem for another time, she had to shower and get ready for her trip and she was already hours late. So she saved the contact as N with a fire emoji, since she was hot and a redhead, and sent her a short message so she would also have her number. “Hi, cutie. I will forgive you for running on me, but now you owe me coffee. ;) I’ll be out of town for a couple of weeks but we can plan something for when I’m back. Waverly x”

By the time Waverly was in her car and ready to go she was sad to see she still had not gotten any reply from N. Although she knew she had an important appointment of some kind so that could explain why she might not have had time to respond. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of her latest hook up and set on her way to Purgatory, and the completely different life she would have there for the next couple weeks. 

The small town wasn’t that far from Calgary, only a two hour drive away but Waverly always made excuses for not visiting more often and never staying longer than a weekend. She either told her family she needed to work on her TA duties or her private tutoring or she needed to study or work on her thesis, but the truth was she never really felt like she could truly be herself in Purgatory and even though she knew her family loved her, she never had the courage to tell them about it so she just avoided going all together. 

This time, however, she was fresh out of excuses. She was done with her studies and they all knew she would only start on her new job after the summer so in their eyes it was the perfect opportunity for her to come by and spend some quality time with them. Waverly sighed, turned on the radio and got her game face on. She had pretended to be someone she wasn’t for 18 years, she could do it again for two weeks. 

Piece of cake.

* * *

It was nearing 2pm when she finally stepped into Shorty’s, her family’s bar. She was starving and her hangover induced headache was getting worse by the minute, so she was hoping she could get some food and some hair of the dog to help her through the rest of the day. Some alcohol right now would definitely make it an easier job of smiling and waving and pretending to be the perfect little angel everybody thought her to be.

She had barely gotten down the steps leading to the bar area when she was enveloped in a bone crushing hug by her sister. Wynonna was not one for public displays of affection so as soon as the hug started, it had ended, and Waverly was left slightly dizzy from the whole shock to her system.

“Finally!” Wynonna exclaimed, still standing right in front of Waverly with a huge smile on her face. “What took you so long?”

“I was reading until late last night and forgot to turn the alarm on.” Waverly lied easily and quickly changed the subject. “I am starving. Did you already eat?”

“No, but I had a late breakfast anyway. I could wait.” Wynonna said dismissively while walking Waverly over to take a seat at the bar. Waverly knew her sister was never good with feelings and especially talking about them, which is also why Waverly had never told her about herself. They never really had heart to hearts and deep conversations but she never doubted how much Wynonna loved her, and their relationship worked well enough as it was, so Waverly never felt the need to change it.

“Great then. I’ll have the vegan wrap and a small portion of fries, please.” Waverly requested sweetly and Wynonna walked over to the kitchen to place their orders. Her aunt had added the vegan wrap to the menu when Waverly had become vegan a couple years back. The older woman had insisted that Waverly would always have something nice to eat when she came over, even if she did not visit so often. “Is Gus around?” Waverly asked when Wynonna came back, suddenly feeling guilty for not visiting in so long and wanting to give her aunt a big appreciative hug.

“Yeah, she’s in a meeting with some chick in her office. She asked me not to bother her but didn’t tell me much more than that. She knows you are here so I’m sure she will come by as soon as she can.” Wynonna replied with a shrug. “What can I get you to drink? Ginger ale?” 

“I’ll have a beer actually.” Waverly replied, purposefully playing with the coasters and not looking at her sister.

“Uh, excuse me? Who are you and what have you done with my sister?” Wynonna teased while pinching Waverly in the arm as if to see if she was real.

“I am a 23 years old adult woman, Wynonna. I can have a beer.” Waverly replied matter-of-factly while slapping her sister’s hand away.

“Oh I am well aware of that, baby girl. But it’s 2 o’clock in the afternoon. The sun is still out! Isn’t that going to shrink your genius brain or turn you into dust or something?” Wynonna asked in fake bewilderment. 

“I’m on holiday and I had a long drive, I’m treating myself. Now shut up and give me a beer. It’s not like you don’t start drinking as soon as you wake up.” Waverly said defensively with a roll of her eyes.

“Yes, but I am the bad sheep of the family. You are the good one and I’m trying to keep it that way.” Wynonna replied with a wink and went on to pour both of them a pint of beer. 

Waverly just sighed and rested her head on her hands that were on the bar top in front of her. This was exactly why she had never been open and honest with Wynonna and Gus about her life in the city. She knew they meant well and they loved her to death but they also had all these expectations of her that Waverly was afraid she would not be able to live up to if they knew the truth. So she had never shared with them anything about her sexuality or her sex life or the parties and binges and occasional recreational drugs she had partaken in. They didn’t need to know anyway. All they needed to know was that she was healthy and happy and she had graduated with all honors, despite all the partying, and she had landed a full time teaching position at her alma mater.

“Everything ok, Waves?” Wynonna asked worriedly, as she placed the beers by Waverly’s head.

“Yeah, just tired.” Waverly replied and faked a smile that she was sure did not reach her eyes. “It was a really good book. I didn’t get much sleep.”

“Ok, if you are sure.” Wynonna replied and Waverly could tell she wasn’t really buying it but decided not to push it.

The sisters slipped into easy conversation as they drank their beers and ate their food. Sharing stories about their lives, as much as Waverly was comfortable to share, and everything that had happened in Purgatory since the last time the younger Earp had visited. Wynonna was in the middle of a crazy story about a fight that had broken out in the bar the previous weekend when Gus came around the back to join them.

“It’s so good to see you, honey. You look happy and healthy and more beautiful than ever.” Gus said lovingly as she looked Waverly over after a long hug. 

“Thank you, Gus.” Waverly replied bashfully. “You also look great.”

“That is sweet, honey but I know it’s not true. I look old and tired, but that is ok because I am old and tired!” Gus replied with a chuckle. “And I know, you just got here and you want to relax and catch up with your sister but there is something I need to talk to both of you about.” Gus continued with a serious look on her face, causing both sisters to stand up straighter and nod as to show Gus they were ready to listen.

“As I was saying, I am old and I am tired, and since your uncle passed…” She took a deep breath and Waverly moved closer to the older woman to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I just don’t have the energy to deal with both the ranch and the bar, and to be honest I don’t want to do it anymore. I just want to rest my old bones and mind my garden.”

“Are you… are you selling Shorty’s?” Wynonna asked with clear worry in her voice. Waverly knew how much this bar and this job meant to her sister so she was equally as worried as to what would happen to it if her aunt had decided to sell.

“No, honey, I am not selling it. I’m giving it to you, the both of you, to do with as you please.” Gus answered, taking the time to look at each sister in the eye as she explained it. “I had a meeting with a lawyer just now to arrange everything. She will draft the paperwork for us to sign and once that is done, the bar will be yours.”

Waverly didn’t know what to say. Of all the things she might have expected from coming home, this was certainly not it. She looked over at Wynonna and her sister was standing there with her mouth half open and a dazed look in her face. This bar was everything to her, and for her to actually own it, must be a dream come true. While for Waverly, it was quite the opposite. She loved her life in the city, she was a month away from starting at her dream job and she had no intention of owning or running anything in Purgatory.

“Gus, I… This is so nice of you, but I feel like I don’t deserve it. Wynonna should have it, not me.” Waverly replied as she got her thoughts together.

“No. That is the one condition I have requested the lawyer to add on the papers. It should have a clause that stipulates that either both of you sell it or both of you keep it, I won’t have it any other way. You may not be here right now but both of you worked every summer and every weekend on this bar as soon as you were old enough to help and both of you deserve to keep it. Wynonna works here now and she should be compensated for her hard work, that is why she gets paid, but the ownership goes to the both of you and I will not have it otherwise.” Gus replied firmly and Wynonna gave Waverly a look and a nod that told her she agreed. Seeing this was a battle she was not going to win, Waverly conceded and hugged her aunt again with a quick thank you.

“Ok, I guess I better start helping then.” Waverly said with an easy smile and moved around the bar to stand with her sister. 

“One more thing before I forget to mention.” Gus said as she leaned over the bar to get the sisters’ attention. “I wanted to do this right so I hired a nice lawyer from a big firm in the city and as things will move faster if she stays in town, I offered for her to stay in the apartment over here. I need to go to the ranch and grab some documents for her and she is still busy working in my office but if she comes out and asks for the key to freshen up, could one of you please show her upstairs?”

“Sure thing, Gus.” Waverly smiled and Wynonna slapped her leg muttering “Suck up” under her breath. Gus shook her head and smiled at the easy interaction between the sisters. She then said her goodbyes and left for the ranch, leaving Waverly to reacquaint herself with bartending. 

She had done this for years, even when she was too young to legally be allowed to, so it should be just like riding a bike, right?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more Earp sisters shenanigans and Waverly gets a surprise.
> 
> It should be known to all that I am as bad at summaries as I am at tagging. :)

After half an hour of being behind the bar, Waverly felt as if she had never left. Pouring beers and serving drinks was something that came second nature to her, having done it since she was a teenager, and apparently not being behind the bar for a while made no difference in how easy and natural it all felt. She was easily chatting with the customers and smiling as she served them drinks and quickly her tip jar was growing a lot fuller than Wynonna’s, much to her sister’s annoyance. She was busy making cocktails for a group of young girls when Wynonna walked over with a smirk on her face.

“So sis, who is N?” Wynonna asked, shaking Waverly’s phone in her hand and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. “Do you finally have time to bang now that you are done with all the boring learning? Is this dude tipping your jar?”

“Give me that!” Waverly replied with wide eyes, quickly taking the phone from Wynonna’s hand and cursing at herself for leaving it on top of the bar. She looked at the lock screen to check what her sister could have seen and was thankful she had remembered to change her privacy settings so she would only see the notification of the message but not the actual content. “N is my friend Natalie, the fire thing is an inside joke and it’s very rude to look at other people’s messages!” She lied quickly with the first thing that popped into her mind. She did have a friend named Natalie that she might have mentioned to Wynonna before so hopefully her sister would buy it

“Oh sheesh. I was just hoping you were getting some action.” Wynonna replied with her hands up in surrender. “You should try and have a little fun, baby girl. You won’t be hot and young forever.” She said as she walked around the bar to go check on the booths.

Waverly shook her head and chuckled to herself, thinking of how much fun she had been having that Wynonna had no idea of. And seeing how her sister was not around to pry she checked the message N had sent her.

“Hey Wave. How about I’ll buy you dinner instead? Just to make sure there are really no hard feelings… ;) What are you doing out of town, if I may ask? I hope it’s more fun than my business trip. Xx”

Waverly’s stomach fluttered at reading the nickname and she wondered what would be like to hear her say it out loud. It also gave her an idea on how to find out what N’s name was without having to outright ask for it.

“Wave, huh? I’ll let it slide if you let me know what cute nickname I can call you. And dinner sounds lovely, I’ll let you know when I’m back in town so we can decide on a date. I’m visiting family right now so I’ll let you make your own conclusions on how fun that must be. :) xx”

Within less than a minute, Waverly felt the phone vibrate in her back pocket and took out to check the new message from N.

“After last night, I thought you had already decided on calling me baby. ;) And I don’t usually do nicknames but for you I’ll allow. You can call me Nic. For my views on the fun of family time, you will have to wait until dinner. Xx”

Waverly smiled widely, glad that her plan had worked, and stored her phone back in her pocket. She would reply to Nicole, which she then assumed was Nic’s actual name, later tonight when she was alone in bed, maybe she would even call her now she knew her name. It was just her luck that she would have met someone she connected so easily with right before she had to leave town for two weeks but at least Nicole seemed to be fine with waiting so phone conversations would have to do.

As she moved to pour a customer a refill on their beer while daydreaming of red hair and soft brown eyes, she was suddenly faced with the object of her dreams standing in front of her and, in her surprise, she turned the glass in her hand, effectively pouring the beer all over herself. Wynonna seeing the commotion quickly ran to her side and seeing what had happened handed her sister a cleaning rag while doubling down in laughter. 

“Hey Wave. Did Shorty’s always have wet t-shirt competitions or is it something new you are doing in my honour?” Nicole asked, leaning over the bar with that same sexy smirk that made Waverly’s legs turn to jello. 

Waverly gave up trying to clean the beer from her shirt with the rag and promptly threw it at Nicole’s stupid sexy face, which she quickly dodged. Now that the shock was over, Waverly took her time to take a good look at the woman standing on the other side of the bar. She was looking sexier than ever in a tailored black suit over a white button-up shirt, her long red hair neatly clasped at the back of her head, and that damn half smirk on her face. If Waverly’s brain had been able to process all the information around her she would have connected the dots but that was definitely not the case.

“Nic, what? What are you doing here?” Waverly asked, clearly confused.

“Wait, you guys know each other?” Wynonna interrupted from where she had been watching the interaction, bringing Waverly’s attention to the fact that her sister was standing right there which was not good at all.

“Yes, we do actually.” Nicole replied to Wynonna and then turned on to Waverly with a smile. “I am the lawyer working with your aunt to transfer Shorty’s ownership to you two. Small world, huh?”

From the corner of her eye, Waverly could see that Wynonna had an inquisitive look in her face and was about to open her mouth to ask more questions so Waverly quickly took over before she had the chance to do so. “Yes, super small. Tiny really.” She rambled in a panic while getting the keys to the apartment from under the register and running around the bar to where Nicole was still standing. “My aunt asked me to show you where you will be staying so why don’t I do that now since I also have to do something about this shirt.” Waverly pointed at her soaked shirt and didn’t wait for confirmation before grabbing the redhead by the arm and leading her up the stairs. 

Once they got into the apartment and Waverly had closed and locked the door, she walked over to the bed and took a deep breath, glad to be on safe ground for the time being. She then took off her drenched shirt and threw it on the floor with a sigh, not really caring that Nicole was right there watching her every move.

“Couldn’t wait to get me to a bed once again, could you?” Nicole said smugly, but Waverly could see in the softness of her eyes that she was joking and just shook her head with a tight smile. The redhead placed her suitcase on the floor and opened it, pulling out the first t-shirt she could find before walking over to sit on the bed next to the smaller girl and hand her the item.

“Joking aside, you looked pretty freaked out back there. Is everything ok? If me being here is making you uncomfortable, I can make an excuse and continue this from the city.” Nicole said softly, staring at her hands as the brunette put on the shirt that looked way too big on her petite frame.

Waverly did not reply, she just shook her head and moved closer to Nicole, wrapping her arms around her torso and resting her head on the redhead’s shoulder, letting herself breathe in her scent as she tried to calm herself down. It had been easy to lie to her family when she was barely visiting and her life in the city seemed so far away and well hidden from everyone in Purgatory. But seeing Nicole in her family’s bar today had literally made those two words clash for the first time and she had downright panicked. 

In all honesty, she had just met the girl, if meeting could even be the right word to use for what had transpired between them. Had this been any of her other hookups, she would not have thought twice before taking up on their offer to leave, but Nicole was different. She didn’t know what it was about the redhead but she felt a deeper connection to her than she had ever felt with anyone before and she wanted to have the opportunity to explore it. Waverly knew that for that to happen she would have to be honest with her and explain her family situation, but she didn’t even know where to start, so for now she would just hold on to her while she gathered her thoughts together.

“You know, I’ve spent most of the day with your aunt today. She told me all about her nieces, and now I feel like I know way more about you than I should without your permission.” Nicole said with a chuckle, bringing Waverly out of her thoughts. “It just never really crossed my mind that the Waverly Earp she told me about was the same Waverly that took me home last night and confided in me about all of her hopes and dreams until the early hours of the morning. They just seemed like two completely different people.” Nicole said softly, rubbing comforting circles in the small of Waverly’s back. Waverly took a deep breath and raised her head from the redhead’s shoulder to look her in her eyes, but instead of seeing the judgment she expected to find, she only saw understanding and maybe a hint of sadness.

“You don’t have to talk to me, but you can, if you want to. And I… I would really like you to.” Nicole continued, bringing her face closer to Waverly so their foreheads were touching. “I know we don’t even know each other 24 hours but…Have you ever met someone and instantly known in your heart that they meant something to you?” Nicole asked, looking deep into Waverly’s eyes. Waverly could see all of her emotions floating in the pools of deep chocolate brown; sincerity, vulnerability but mostly insecurity and fear, fear that Waverly might not feel the same. Not trusting herself to be able to say the right words but wanting nothing more than to erase the fear and insecurity from the taller girl’s mind, Waverly closed the gap in between them, touching their lips on a slow and sweet kiss, full of emotion and promise.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.” Nicole whispered with a small smile as their lips parted just enough for her to be able to speak. She reached out and placed a strand of loose hair behind Waverly’s ear, her fingers gently brushing against her skin and Waverly felt herself melt in place at the softness of it all.

“Hey! Why is this locked?” Wynonna shouted from the other side of the closed door, crushing Waverly’s little happy bubble and causing the pair to hastily jump away from each other. Nicole stood to the side of the bed, patting down non existing wrinkles in her suit as Waverly walked over to unlock the door.

“Shouldn’t you be manning the bar?” Waverly asked once she opened the door and let Wynonna in.

“Doc just arrived for his shift.” Wynonna replied, looking quickly at the redhead standing awkwardly in the background before moving closer to Waverly and whispering so only she could hear it. “I just wanted to check on you. Are you sure you are ok? You don’t seem like yourself today.”

“Not myself indeed.” Waverly whispered, mostly to herself, but by the way Wynonna looked at her, prodding her to continue, she could tell she had heard her as well. “It’s nothing, Wynonna, really. I’m just really tired. I think I will take a nap actually, now that I am up here, if you don’t mind.”

“What about ginger spice? And actually, how do you know each other?” Wynonna asked, nodding her head towards the redhead.

“She is a friend from the city, and she can work at the desk while I sleep. Right, Nic?” Waverly replied, turning her back to Wynonna and begging Nicole with her eyes to agree.

“Yep, I still have lots to do for your aunt so I will just change into something more comfortable and get to work. Here. At this desk.” Nicole confirmed with a tight smile while tapping the desk she was standing right next to.

Wynonna looked in between the girls with a suspicious look in her face and when she twisted her nose in disgust, Waverly prepared herself for the worst.

“Wait, are you the type of friends that share all their clothes? Cuz seriously, baby girl, that is not a great look on you.” Wynonna commented gesturing up and down to the over sized t-shirt she was wearing. “No wonder she’s not getting laid.” She fake whispered to Nicole, earning a slap from the smaller brunette and a hearty laugh from the redhead.

“Out! Go back to work!” Waverly exclaimed exasperatedly as she pushed Wynonna out of the door before closing and locking it again.

Waverly turned back around and leaned against the closed door with her eyes closed. That had been close but she was thankful Nicole seemed to understand her situation and had agreed to go along with her story. When she opened her eyes she was greeted to the sight of Nicole, already without her jacket, slowly unbuttoning her shirt, mirth still shining in her eyes. All her thoughts of Wynonna and nearly getting caught were immediately erased from her mind as her feet moved her closer to Nicole, as if on their accord, and her hands covered Nicole’s on her shirt.

“Need help?” Waverly asked seductively, moving to place a soft kiss on Nicole’s exposed collarbone.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? Someone could come up here any minute.” Nicole replied breathlessly, fingers moving from the buttons of her shirt to intertwine with Waverly’s hair, as the small brunette slowly moved downwards on her trail of kisses. 

“Oh, I’m counting on someone coming… very soon.” Waverly smirked as she finished unbuttoning Nicole’s shirt and pulled her down for a hungry kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another WayHaught Wednesday update. Two more to go.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think with those kudos and comments. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wynonna is still clueless! Or is she? More talks and cover ups :)
> 
> And on a side note, the world might be fucked up but at least we have fanfiction. Hang on to the good things because they will keep us going.

Waverly sat on Nicole’s lap on the bed, both freshly showered and dressed, enjoying sweet kisses and chaste touches under the breeze of the open window. Even though they weren’t quite ready to let each other go yet, they had decided it was best to look presentable and air out the room, in case Wynonna or, even worse, Gus decided to come check on them again. So they had showered, together and probably for longer than necessary, gotten dressed in comfortable clothing, Waverly using Nicole’s t-shirt as a short dress and Nicole in sweatpants and a form fitting tank top, and opened the windows in the bathroom and the main room for some air flow.

As they sat in comfortable silence, basking in each other’s warmth, Waverly realized she had never really felt so at home or so at ease with anyone before, and it gave her the confidence that she needed to start the conversation she was dreading on having.

“When I was a little girl, mama left us. I was only four years old so I barely remember her. Daddy was a violent drunk so when she left he took it out on us instead. Wynonna always protected me, she wouldn’t let him lay a hand on me, so she got the worst of it. And then one night when I was six, Wynonna was tired of his screams and his belt so she went through his liquor cabinet and emptied all the bottles down the sink, then she took me and we went to hide in the barn. He came home, drunk already, and when he couldn’t find any alcohol at home, or us to take it out on, he got back in his car and drove to town. He crashed against another car, a family with a small child, and there were no survivors.” Waverly spoke in a small voice, forehead resting against Nicole’s cheek, one arm around her shoulders, and the other around her waist, hand playing with the hem of her tank top. Nicole turned her face slightly to place a kiss on Waverly’s forehead, and held her closer against her body to show her she was there for her and she could continue.

“It was really hard on Wynonna. She was never able to forgive herself for what happened. I don’t think she really cared all that much what happened to Daddy, but the family with the kid... that hit her hard so, let’s just say she had a tough time dealing with that and got involved with the wrong crew. She did time in Juvie and when she was of age, God, I can’t count how many times Gus had to bail her out of jail. If it wasn’t for the Sheriff being a family friend, she probably would be doing time in County right now. But he always let her out with a warning.” This was never something Waverly liked talking about, especially the part about Wynonna. Her sister had enough people treating her like shit for being the town fuck-up, she shouldn’t be adding more people to the list. But she needed to tell Nicole everything, she needed her to understand and she trusted that she wouldn’t use it against her sister.

“But you see, aunt Gus and uncle Curtis took us in, when we had no one else. They loved us like daughters, even when Wynonna got in trouble, and I always just wanted to make them proud. I felt like I had this obligation to be the perfect child to make up for everything they had to go through because of Wynonna. And I guess, the older I got everybody’s expectations of me just grew, because I had always been so perfect, everyone expected me to be like that forever.” Waverly sighed and moved herself lower so her head was resting on the crook of Nicole’s neck.

“A couple years ago, uncle Curtis passed away. He had a heart attack. Since then Wynonna has really stepped up. I was already living in the city so she took it upon herself to be there for aunt Gus and became a lot more responsible. She works in the bar, she has a serious boyfriend and if we discount her mild drinking problem, she really has her shit together now. So really, if I think logically, I have no reason to keep this from them anymore. But I’m scared.” Waverly confided, burying her face deeply into Nicole’s neck. “I’m scared they will be disappointed. I’m scared they won’t treat me the same.”

“From everything that I saw today, your family loves you, Waves. Why do you think they would think you are any less perfect just because you like girls?” Nicole said as she took Waverly’s face in her hands and smiled at her adoringly. “I’m not saying you need to tell them you pick up girls at bars and take them home without even asking their names, but you can tell them about the girl liking part.” Nicole added with a teasing smile, causing Waverly to sit up straighter and look at her with wide eyes.

“I knew it! You never told me your name!” Waverly exclaimed, pointing a finger at her.

“Hey, you never bothered to ask.” Nicole replied with a laugh. “You get props though, for your creativity today trying to ask without asking.”

“You saw through that, huh?” Waverly asked coyly. 

“Yep!” Nicole replied with a proud smile, popping the ‘p’ at the end. “It was still super cute though.” 

“I’m glad you approve.” Waverly said, placing a quick kiss on the redhead’s lips. “And do you really think my family would be ok with me not being straight? How did your family take it?” She asked, still unsure of how they would react. Purgatory was a small town, with small minded people. She usually didn’t count her family in that group but they still had to live amongst those people and she didn’t didn’t want to be the reason they were shunned or made fun of.

“I honestly think they will be fine with it. Your aunt loves you like you hung the moon and all the stars, and from the little I’ve seen of your interaction with Wynonna, you mean the world to her.” Nicole answered easily. “My parents, well, they were a different story. But they were always selfish assholes so I guess they just needed a reason to not care about me anymore. Not that I think they ever truly did to begin with.” Nicole said with a humorless laugh, turning her gaze away from Waverly.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Nicole.” Waverly said, placing her fingers under the redhead’s chin and turning her face to her. “You turned out amazing, so it is truly their loss.”

“Well, you might be biased.” Nicole countered, already closing the gap between their lips.

“Oy! Why is this locked again?” Wynonna’s voice came crashing into their moment, as she started banging at the locked door violently.

Waverly sighed and stood up to let her sister in, giving Nicole an apologetic smile as Nicole was already moving to sit at the desk where her laptop was carefully placed for her pretend work. 

“Yes, Wynonna. How may we help you?” Waverly asked drily as Wynonna walked in.

“Hmmm, where are your pants? Please tell me Carrot top is wearing them like shorts!” Wynonna asked, looking Waverly up and down and then bursting into laughter at her own joke.

“Did you need something?” Waverly replied with an eye roll, annoyed at her sister’s antics. 

“Gus called. She said she’s not coming back here. She’s making dinner instead and we should go over and bring Red with us.” Wynonna explained, sounding bored. “So whenever you’re ready, I’ll be downstairs.” She turned around and started to leave, but then she changed her mind and added with a teasing tone, back still turned to Waverly. “She did not mention anything about pants being optional though.”

“Whatever!” Waverly yelled after her sister as she slammed the door behind her. Waverly was still glaring at the closed door when strong arms hugged from behind, making her relax immediately.

“We should come up with a story of how we met and became friends if we are going to have dinner with your aunt. She is a sharp woman, she won’t be as easy to fool as your sister.” Nicole said and Waverly turned in her arms, resting her head on the taller woman’s shoulder with a groan.

“You must think I’m a horrible person. I do hate lying to them. I truly do. I just have done it for so long that it makes it extra hard to come out with the truth now.” Waverly tried to explain, not daring to look up at Nicole and see the judgement on her face.

“Hey, it’s ok.” Nicole said reassuringly, lifting Waverly’s face with the tip of her fingers, so the smaller girl would look at her. “You need to do this at your own pace. When it’s the right time, you will know. There is no rush.” 

Waverly felt her knees go weak at the sincerity and understanding she could see in Nicole’s eyes but before she could get lost in those incredible pools of chocolate she simply nodded and pulled Nicole towards the edge of the bed so they could sit and discuss what cover story they would use to hopefully convince both her aunt and Wynonna that Nicole was just a friend.

* * *

They went in two separated cars to the ranch, leaving Waverly’s jeep at Shorty’s, since Wynonna and Waverly would go to the homestead afterwards and Nicole would have to drive back to the bar. Wynonna suggested that waverly ride with her and Nicole follow them, but Waverly insisted she would ride with Nicole instead, just in case the redhead got lost not being able to follow Wynonna’s crazy driving. In reality, she just wanted to make sure that she would not have any conversations with her sister in private that Nicole might contradict later on. They had practiced what they would say, but when it came to details they had only gone so far. They would have to wing it when the questions came but as long as they were together they would know what the other had said and take it from there.

It wasn’t long after they had sat down for dinner that Wynonna had brought up the subject, looking at Nicole suspiciously.

“Did you know, Gus, that Miss Red Herring here and Waves are friends?”

“Oh are you really?” Gus questioned, looking at both girls in turn. “Miss Haught did not mention that at all when I was telling her all about you girls earlier today.” 

“Haught?” Wynonna snickered but Waverly ignored the question and started on her practiced cover story.

“Yeah, you see, we met at a book club and it’s more of a first name basis kinda place, so she didn’t know the Waverly you were talking about was me. We were quite surprised when we saw each other in Shorty’s earlier. I guess I never mentioned I was from Purgatory.” Waverly rambled, while from the corner of her eye she could see Nicole squirming in her seat under the inquiring gazes of Gus and Wynonna.

“So not close friends then?” Gus asked, focusing her attention now on Waverly.

“They seemed pretty close to me with Waverly wearing her clothes and the no pants thing and all.” Wynonna chimed in, surprising Waverly with the comment. They had definitely underestimated Wynonna and how she had taken Waverly’s excuses.

“No pants?” Gus inquired, obviously surprised by the statement.

“Waverly spilled beer all over herself earlier and since her suitcase was still in the car, she borrowed one of my t-shirts.” Nicole explained, trying to sound casual and Waverly was happy the taller woman had found her voice because she was still reeling from her sister’s comment. “And she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to take a nap, so she took off her jeans to be able to sleep more comfortably. That is all.” Nicole continued with a smile and then went back to eating her food as if nothing was going on.

“Ok.” Gus replied easily and also went back to eating. Wynonna, however, had her gaze still set on Waverly and it didn’t look like she was going to give in without a fight.

“What book are you reading?” Wynonna asked, eyes piecing Waverly’s. 

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” Waverly replied quickly. They had practiced this. So far so good.

“When is the book club?” Wynonna continued her inquisition.

“Wednesday’s from 7 to 9pm. We also do drinks and stuff.” Waverly replied.

“Every Wednesday?” Wynonna asked, now looking at her phone.

“Yes.” Waverly replied with a little less conviction now.

“When did it start?” Wynonna asked, still not looking up from the small screen.

“About a month ago.” Waverly answered, getting more and more worried about where this was going.

“Did you both go every week?” Wynonna now had looked up from her phone and had a strange look on her face.

“Yes.” Waverly replied cautiously, feeling this was when the other shoe was about to drop.

“What is really going on here?” Wynonna asked with a sigh, crossing her arms in front of her chest and looking at Waverly with a look that meant business.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Waverly replied, also crossing her arms stubbornly. She could see now that both Nicole and Gus had stopped eating and were silently paying attention at the interaction. 

“I know you are lying, Waves. I called you 3 weeks ago on a Wednesday evening because I was having issues with the new accounting software you got me for Shorty’s. We talked from 7:24 until 8:03pm, so why are you lying to us?” Wynonna showed her call details on her phone and Waverly kicked herself for not remembering that had been on a Wednesday.

“Did you get in trouble?” Gus asked worriedly, reaching out to hold Waverly’s hand. “Is Miss Haught your lawyer and couldn’t mention she knew you due to attorney-client privilege?”

“Oh my God, did you get arrested? Did Haught-shit have to get you out of jail? Ohhh but what could you have done? Were you too nice to someone and they declared it a crime?” Wynonna added sarcastically, obviously thinking it was too ridiculous to even imagine that Waverly could ever do something wrong. 

And that was the last straw. Waverly looked at Wynonna rolling her eyes at her, Gus waiting expectantly for an explanation and Nicole sitting there awkwardly, probably wishing the ground would open and swallow her whole, and she snapped. She turned quickly on her chair, facing Nicole, grabbed the redhead’s face in between both hands and kissed her smack on the lips, hard. She then stood up, grabbed the hand of the stunned looking lawyer and dragged her out of the house and onto her car, not even bothering to look behind her to see how her family had taken the scene.

They were halfway to Shorty’s when the anger and adrenaline of the moment passed and it finally hit Waverly what she had done and how it might have consequences not just for herself but also for Nicole. 

“God, I’m so sorry, Nicole! I wasn’t thinking! I shouldn’t have dragged you in my mess like that without even asking you first. I’ll make sure Gus doesn’t get you in trouble at work, I promise!” Waverly spoke frantically, holding her face in her hands in shame and breaking the uncomfortable silence that was hanging in between them since they had left the ranch.

“It’s fine, I’ll be fine.” Nicole assured, reaching out to grab one of the brunette’s hands on her own. “Are you ok though?” She asked, looking quickly from the road to the smaller girl beside her.

If Waverly was honest with herself, she wasn’t really sure how she was feeling. A part of her felt relief, like a huge weight had been lifted out of her shoulders. She had kept this part of herself a secret from her family for so long that it did feel good to not have that burden anymore. Now, the way that she had done it, that felt pretty shitty.

Whenever she had imagined coming out to her family, it had involved a serious conversation where she would explain her feelings and why she lied and there would be hugs and tears and eventual forgiveness. She never imagined to do it in a temper tantrum and walk away from her family without a word. She was actually feeling a little silly and a lot ashamed of how she had behaved.

“Oh, sorry. Got lost in my thoughts.” Waverly mumbled, after a small squeeze on her hand reminded her that Nicole was still waiting for an answer. “I don’t know how I feel yet. Can we talk about this later?” Waverly asked hopefully, resting her head against the car window hoping the coolness of the glass would bring relief and calmness into her thoughts.

“Of course, whenever you’re ready.” Nicole replied, bringing Waverly’s hand up to her lips for a quick kiss and then resting it on her lap, running soothing circles against the back of it with her thumb.

Waverly turned her head shortly towards the redhead, and smiled at her with gratitude. Suddenly realizing that despite everything that had happened earlier, she would not change a thing, if that meant she would not be with Nicole right now. She might not be happy with how things had gone but she was more than thrilled she had someone so special to hold her hand through it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the kudos and the comments, they make my day! 
> 
> One more chapter to go. Happy WayHaught Wednesday!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy WayHaught Wednesday!
> 
> We have reached the end of this small story so I hope you enjoy it! :)

Waverly woke up to the sun shining on her face and a soft warm body wrapped around her own. She smiled and let herself sink further into the comfort that Nicole brought her. The previous night, they had gotten back to the apartment above Shorty’s and went straight to sleep. Waverly had not felt like talking, still trying to figure out her own thoughts before being comfortable enough to share them, and Nicole had been nothing but understanding, offering to be there for her in any way that brunette would need, even if that meant just holding her to sleep, which is what she did.

Now in the light of the new day, Waverly knew she couldn’t keep her thoughts to herself anymore. So, with a sigh, she turned around on the lawyer’s arms and placed a soft kiss on the underside of her jaw while running a hand through silky red hair.

“Are you awake yet?” Waverly asked softly, moving away a little so she could look at the woman’s face.

“Hmmm, I am now.” Nicole replied sleepily, keeping her eyes still closed while hugging Waverly closer and sighing in contentment.

“Can we talk?” Waverly asked tentatively. She felt bad waking up Nicole this early for her own selfish reasons and dumping all of her emotional baggage on her but she needed someone right now and she really hoped she could still take up on Nicole’s offer from the previous evening.

“Of course.” Nicole assured, trying to make herself seem more awake and changing her position so she would be able to look at Waverly and give the smaller girl her full attention.

Before Waverly could start to explain what was going through her mind, a soft knock sounded on the door, followed by the familiar voice of her sister. 

“Waves? Are you in there?” Wynonna’s voice sounded a lot more careful and hesitant than what Waverly was used to.

Waverly grunted and buried her head deep onto the redhead’s chest, cursing at her sister’s timing.

“Could you get rid of her for me, please? I was really hoping I could talk to you before I had to face them again. And I honestly didn’t think Wynonna would ever be awake this early.” Waverly asked shyly.

“It’s ok.” Nicole replied, giving the brunette a short kiss at the top of her head and walking over to the door to deal with Wynonna. Waverly followed close behind and hid behind the door so she could hear what was being said. With a nod of Waverly’s head, Nicole unlocked the door and stepped outside, closing the door behind her. 

“Good morning, Wynonna…” Nicole started before Wynonna immediately interrupted her.

“Get out of my way Red, I need to talk to my sister.” Wynonna demanded coldly.

“That might be true, but she doesn’t want to talk to you right now. She will come down when she is ready.” Nicole explained and Waverly could hear the shuffling of feet on the other side of the door.

“Fat chance. I’m gonna talk to her now, so move.” Wynonna rebutted angrily.

“Do you ever stop and think that maybe this sense of entitlement you have over your sister’s life is exactly why she has kept things from you and why she is not ready to talk to you right now?” Nicole asked, clearly annoyed at Wynonna’s behaviour. 

“Don’t talk to me like you know me or my sister! You might be fucking her but I know her way better than you do and if you don’t get out of my way right now I’ll show you what the Earp sisters are made of.” Wynonna yelled at the redhead and Waverly could hear something or most likely someone being pushed against the door.

“I don’t want to fight you, Wynonna. I’m only trying to make you understand it is in your best interest to respect Waverly’s wishes. If you burst through this door right now you will only get yourself into another heated discussion and you saw how well that went yesterday. Give her some time and she will come talk to you.” Nicole explained again, her voice back to her usually calm and collected self, despite Wynonna’s threats. And it warmed Waverly’s heart to hear that the lawyer would put herself through the wrath of Wynonna to make sure Waverly’s wishes were followed.

“Wynonna, let’s go back downstairs. Give your sister the time she needs.” Waverly could now hear her aunt’s voice, breaking the tension of the other side of the door. “Miss Haught, I would also like to have a conversation with you when you are available.” Gus continued and Waverly could hear Wynonna stomping away with a huff.

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll get my things together and stop by your office shortly.” Nicole replied and Waverly could hear her aunt’s footsteps also moving away from the door at the confirmation.

As soon as the redhead was back inside the apartment, Waverly enveloped her in a bone crushing hug, that sent both of them crashing against the closed door.

“Thank you for doing that for me. Not many people would stand up to Wynonna the way you did, especially not for me.” Waverly confided after a minute had passed, still holding onto Nicole for dear life, as if she let go the redhead might disappear.

“I guess you’ve been dating too many shitheads.” Nicole replied with a chuckle, moving one of her hands to run through Waverly’s hair.

“Are we?” Waverly asked coyly, moving back to look into Nicole’s eyes.

“Are we what?” Nicole replied confused.

“Dating.” Waverly answered, letting a small hopeful smile take over her lips.

“Considering how you kissed me in front of your family and we’ve spent the night together in your aunt’s apartment, I would think we are.” Nicole confirmed with a big dimpled smile. “Next step, U-haul!” she continued with a small laugh and a wiggle of her eyebrows. Waverly couldn’t help but to laugh together with her, heart soaring at the confirmation.

“I know things are moving at lightspeed right now but when you know you know, right?” Waverly said with a small shrug, once their laughter subsided.

“And I knew from the moment I saw you from across that bar.” Nicole whispered with a dazzling smile, pulling Waverly closer so their foreheads were touching and they were looking into each other’s eyes again. 

Waverly smiled just as brightly and pulled the redhead down for a kiss, wishing they could be frozen in this moment forever, but unfortunately she knew that they couldn't. Nicole had managed to send Wynonna away but that was only temporary. If Waverly did not go downstairs soon, she knew her sister would not have the patience to wait and would come looking for her again so they needed to talk, whether she liked it or not.

“I wanna tell them the truth.” Waverly said decidedly, pulling Nicole by the hands so they could sit at the edge of the bed.

“Ok. The truth about what though?” Nicole asked unsure.

“Everything. All the things I kept from them or lied about in all the years that I have lived in the city. And that also includes you, and how we’ve met and how long we know each other.” Waverly explained, starting confidently but becoming more cautious at the end. This wasn’t only about her, not all of it anyway, so she wanted to make sure Nicole was ok with it before she went through with it.

“Hey, they are your family. If you want them to know everything, you should be able to tell them. Don’t worry about me. Whatever comes my way, I’ll handle it.” Nicole assured her, looking her in the eyes to convey that she really meant it.

“God, when did I become so lucky?” Waverly asked disbelievingly.

“I’m pretty sure I’m the lucky one here but before we get into a never ending discussion of who is the luckiest I should go get myself ready to get fired.” Nicole commented with a small laugh that turned quickly into a grimace, as she stood up from the bed and started getting her things together.

“Ugh, I’ll talk to my aunt. You did nothing wrong!” Waverly complained, getting up herself and putting on her jeans that were folded on a chair by the wall. “I don’t really have any other clothes to change into since my suitcase is still in Wynonna’s car, or wherever she may have stored it, so I’ll just go downstairs and talk to them while you get ready.”

“Do you want me to wait for you here? So I don’t walk down and interrupt anything.” Nicole asked thoughtfully. 

“No, please come down when you’re ready. I’ll probably need the support.” Waverly confirmed with a grimace of her own. She was not looking forward to this but she knew it had to be done. 

Meeting Nicole and going over the rollercoaster of emotions that had happened in the past 24 hours had shown her that she didn’t want to lie or hide her true self anymore. She wanted to build something with this woman and she wanted her family to be a part of it as well. She wasn’t going to be ashamed of wanting to be happy and she truly hoped her family would also be happy for her. After they forgave her about all the lying…

So with a deep breath and her game face on, she opened the door and made her way towards the lion’s den.

* * *

Waverly got downstairs and found her sister and her aunt sitting silently in a booth sipping on coffee and not really looking at each other. Wynonna was obviously brooding with her left arm wrapped around her chest, her right hand wrapped tightly around her mug, and a scowl on her face. Gus was sitting facing the window, holding her coffee mug in both hands while staring outside, deep in thought. Neither of them noticed her approaching until she pulled up a chair from a nearby table and sat facing the booth, wanting to make sure she could make an easy escape if things started going south.

Waverly could see both of them looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something and kickoff the conversation. But now that she was there facing them, she didn’t know where to even start saying all the things she had wanted to say so she chose to just stare at her hands instead, and wait for the words to magically make their way out of her mouth.

“I guess I’ll start.” Gus finally broke the silence after a minute had passed. “Waverly, honey, I am so sorry if I ever did or said anything that made you feel like you couldn’t be honest with me. I can’t even imagine what it must have felt like to have to struggle with feelings you didn’t think you could talk to anyone about. I know Purgatory can be an unforgiving place, and it wasn’t easy for you girls to grow up here after everything that happened but I want you both to know, if you ever had any doubts, that I love you as if you were my own. And even when I was disappointed at some choices that were made, that has never changed and it never will.” Gus said lovingly and Waverly couldn’t help it but to stand up from her chair and walk over to her aunt and hug her tightly.

Deep down she knew all of this. Gus had never done anything to suggest otherwise but still she had been scared. Her aunt wasn’t so different from most people in Purgatory, she was kind and loving, yes, but she had thought the same about a lot of people that still turned their backs on her friend Robyn when he came out in High School. Gus had not been one of those people, she had never changed towards Robyn but Waverly had still been afraid of how she would react if that had been her. So now, hearing her confirm that she still loved and supported her no matter what, meant the world to her.

“Ok, I have said what I wanted to say and we can talk more later on. For now, I’ll leave you two to talk while I go settle some things with Miss Haught.” Gus cleared her throat, never having been one to let herself be emotional, and kissed Waverly’s forehead while moving around her and out of the booth. 

Waverly looked over at the stairs and was surprised to see her girlfriend standing there quietly with her hands on her pockets and a tight smile on her face, obviously not wanting to interrupt the moment but Gus must have heard her coming down and decided it was a good excuse to leave the sisters to talk alone. In all honesty, Waverly always knew that getting things straightened out with Gus would be the easy part. Wynonna on the other hand, she wasn’t so sure about. 

“Gus, please…” Waverly pleaded with her aunt, holding her arm as she started to move towards the redhead but Gus just tapped the hand on her arm and nodded understandingly before continuing on and motioning for Nicole to follow her into her office.

Waverly hadn’t even made it back to her seat when Wynonna started speaking.

“How long?” The older earp asked, hurt clear in her voice.

“How long what?” Waverly replied tiredly, already feeling defeated by the tone of the conversation.

“How long since you have been keeping things from me? Lying to me.” Wynonna replied back, now with a tinge of anger shining through. Waverly went back to staring at her hands. She couldn’t look into her sister’s eyes and see the hurt she caused. And she wouldn’t bear to see the disappointment. 

“Wynonna, it’s not that simple.” Waverly pleaded with her. If they were going to go into this with this frame of mind, there would be no chance for an understanding.

“Oh, I’ll make it simple for you. When did you realize you liked girls?” Wynonna pushed on, clearly angry now.

“I don’t know. A part of me always knew, but if I would pinpoint the moment when I knew for sure, I would have to say when I was 12 and Gus had left you in charge of me on a Saturday because she and Curtis had to visit that expo 2 towns over. You didn’t want to spend your Saturday stuck at home with me so you took me with you to the Gardner’s place. You and Mercedes went outside to smoke and drink and talk about things that I was too young to understand and left me and Beth watching a horror movie. At some point in the movie, she got scared and she held my hand…” Waverly trailed off for a while with a dreamy smile on her face, remembering the feeling as if it was yesterday. Beth was her first girl crush and she obsessed over her for months. She surely didn’t have any feelings for the youngest Gardner girl anymore. Beth had actually grown up to be a horrible person but for a few months when she was 12, Beth Gardner was all she could think about. The way her hand had felt in hers, the way she smelled like oranges and wildflowers when she had snuggled closer to Waverly and the way she looked so cute when she was scared. “And that’s when I knew.” Waverly finished, looking up for the first time to face her sister.

“So you have actively kept this from me for fucking eleven years? And I was upset thinking you had found this side of yourself when you went to college!” Wynonna yelled in frustration. 

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Wynonna. Cry me a river. It’s not like you were telling me about the trouble you were getting yourself into. It’s not like you were taking me into consideration when you got yourself sent to Juvie or when you kept getting arrested time after time like you were begging to be sent to jail for good. Yes, you probably saved my life when we were kids and I love you for that but it does not give you control or ownership over my life.” Waverly countered now angry and annoyed at her sister’s entitled attitude.

“I was young and confused and I would have loved nothing more than to have someone I could talk to about this but you didn’t give me the time of the day back then. And a couple of weeks later you got sent to Juvie again, for 6 months, and I just had to learn to deal with my feelings by myself. And since then, that is what I have done and it was comfortable and easy that way so I never thought of telling you guys until I really had to. Until, Nicole.” Waverly confided, letting all the anger and frustration go at the thought of Nicole. Beautiful, smart, caring Nicole, who was probably getting an ear full from her aunt because of her and still, had decided to stay by her side.

“So you curse now also, huh?” Wynonna asked, sounding a lot less angry and maybe even a little embarrassed at her outburst. 

“Yes, Wynonna. I’m sorry to break it to you but I’m not the perfect little angel you guys always pictured me to be.” Waverly replied with a defeated sigh.

“So what else has this wild unknown Waverly done that I don’t know about? Ever been arrested? Done drugs? one-night-stands? Threesomes? Any STDs I should know about?” Wynonna asked with wide eyes, moving her hands around trying to come up with more questions, causing Waverly to laugh at how crazy she looked. 

“Never been arrested, thank God! I would never have gotten through the background check the University requested for the job otherwise.” Waverly explained easily. “Drugs, yes, but none of the heavy stuff and just at parties during undergrad. I haven’t touched any of that in years. Threesomes, no, but not for the lack of opportunity.” She laughed and winked at her sister that was just sitting there with an unreadable look on her face. “And nope, no STDs, I’ve always been careful with my partners.” She finished with a small proud smile on her face.

“Huh? Not bad, Waves. I’m proud.” Wynonna said and Waverly could actually believe her as the older Earper reached out and grabbed one of her hands in both of hers. “And I’m happy you have some fun besides all the boring studying that you do. I guess I just wish I could have been part of that.” Wynonna continued sincerely.

“We can still do that though.” Waverly offered with just as much sincerity. “Now that everything's out in the open, next time you come to the city we will party, ok? I promise.” 

“I’ll hold you to that.” Wynonna said with a smile but then seemed to remember something. “But hey, you didn’t answer me about the one-night-stands?”

“Oooh yes, I had plenty of those. It’s actually how Nicole and I met.” Waverly replied with a shy smile and a small blush on her cheeks.

“That’s how Doc and I met as well.” Wynonna said with a wink and raised her coffee mug towards her sister. Waverly in turn pretended to cheer on it with her empty hand and they both laughed over their silliness.

“We haven’t been together long.” Waverly confided, being intentionally vague. “But I really like her. It would mean a lot to me if you gave her a chance.”

“I can do that.” Wynonna confirmed, finishing her coffee and standing up from the booth. “Now I need another gallon of coffee stat! Waking up this early is not natural!” She said seriously, walking over to the bar to make some more coffee.

Waverly stood to follow and get some coffee herself when she saw the door to the office open and both Gus and Nicole walked out with smiles on their faces.

“Don’t you worry. I did not fire your girlfriend.” Gus whispered as she passed by Waverly and gave her a small squeeze on her shoulder.

“So all good?” Waverly asked, hugging Nicole as she approached her.

“All good. I can finish the paperwork and she will have me look into a couple of other things for her as well, now that we are family.” Nicole confirmed with a wiggle of her eyebrows and a cheeky smile. “We actually had a good talk so no complaints there. How about you?” Nicole asked, searching Waverly’s face for signs of distress.

“Yeah, I think we are ok.” Waverly replied, looking at her sister and resting her head on the redhead’s shoulder with a content sigh. She had never felt so happy in her life and to think this all started because of a drunken one-night-stand... She laughed to herself and buried her head further in the lawyer’s shoulder as she thought ‘tequila deserves a better rap’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking around with me and I hope you have enjoyed it.
> 
> I know some of you have asked for more chapters but life is crazy right now and I still have another ongoing story that needs updating but I also have grown fond of this particular version of Waverly and Nicole so who knows? Maybe there will be a sequel in the future!
> 
> And as always, feedback is appreciated :)

**Author's Note:**

> This started as an idea for a one-shot and turned out much bigger than that so I decided to split it in 4 chapters. 
> 
> They are all written and edited so I'll post them once a week for WayHaught Wednesday. :)
> 
> Let me know what you guys think with those kudos and comments! Thanks!


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